Published: June 14, 2008 12:08 am            

HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS: Top stories of the season

Tribune



1. Dogs win one for Stan

On the heels of the loss of iconic former coach Stan Sajko, the New Albany baseball team paid the man an ultimate tribute — winning the Stan Sajko Invitational in late May.

Just weeks after Sajko died unexpectedly in his New Albany home, the Bulldogs bested Clarksville in the opening round and then downed rival Providence in the championship, 5-1.

“It probably means a little more because of Stan passing away, and it means a lot to his family,” New Albany head coach Chris McIntyre said. “It always means so much every year because of what Stan stood for.”



2. A new champion emerges: Floyd Central was dominant again in winning its sixth consecutive sectional title, but a new team emerged from the pack of contenders to represent the area at the IHSAA State Finals in Franklin.

Just days after a disappointing third-place effort at sectional, Providence scored a spot at state by finishing third at the Seymour Regional.

“In the sectional, we didn’t play to our potential,” said Providence coach Dave Lobeck after the regional round. “In the front nine today, we actually did finally play to our full potential, although we did let it slip a little in the back nine.”

Floyd Central, the two-time defending IHSAA state champion, slipped to sixth at the regional.

“I think our inexperience showed up again today,” said Floyd coach Mike Cason. “None of these guys had ever played any varsity before, and experience makes a big difference in golf.”



3. Pfund rises: Providence junior Trey Pfund had a huge hand in the Providence surge. At the regional, he scored the medalist round with an 18-hole 71. At state, he was near the top of the leaderboard through 14 holes of play before his round was cut short by darkness.

An early-morning tee-time the following day cooled off the red-hot Pioneer, who wound up finishing 16th at the state finals with a 36-hole score of 145 (five over par).

“My game wasn’t what it was (on Tuesday) — and getting about four hours of sleep didn’t help,” Pfund said. “I feel like a zombie.”



4. Highlander doubles are trouble for foes: While Floyd Central’s girls’ tennis team fell short of its quest for a regional repeat, one Highlander doubles squad made quite a run in the state tournament.

No. 1 doubles tandem Emma LaDuke and Kayla Prusinski advanced through sectional and regional to play in the IHSAA State Finals in Indinapolis.

The team, which lost only once in the regular season, fell in three sets during its quarterfinal match to West Lafayette.

For LaDuke and Prusinski, things appeared promising after the opening set, when they pushed ahead of West Lafayette’s Elizabeth Bremer and Madison Leslie.

But the Red Devil team proved too much, rallying to post a 5-7, 6-1, 6-3 victory.

“We played real well when the match started,” said Floyd coach Rick Miller. “But as it went on, we missed too many first serves and returns, and it wound up costing us in the long run. That’s two areas where you have to be almost perfect in doubles play and (West Lafayette) took advantage of our mistakes.”

The loss ended LaDuke and Prusinski’s season at 24-2 — which Miller says is the most victories he has seen a doubles team accumulate during his tenure as Highlander boss. The squad also earned a first-team all-state selection.



5. CAI’s carousel continues: One of Floyd County’s biggest stories of the spring occured indoors — where Christian Academy of Indiana replaced David Scott as its boys’ basketball head coach.

Scott served one season as the Warriors’ head coach, compiling a 14-7 record — the most wins the school has registered since winning a sectional championship during the 1997-98 season.

Scott, a former Indiana All-Star at Graceland Christian High School played collegiately at Miami (Ohio) where he ranks No. 9 on the school’s all-time career scoring list.

He was replaced by Joshua Hutchinson.

Coaching turnover is nothing new at CAI. The school has had six different head coaches this decade and Scott’s replacement will be the fourth coach in four seasons since Joe McKay resigned at the end of the 2004-05 campaign.

“I’m not angry. I’m disappointed and still shocked by the way things transpired,” said Scott, whose replacement was named just five days after his resignation.



Clark County



1. Devils win a dual with Dogs: Seeking a repeat of its sectional championship, Jeffersonville survived a nervous nine innings before unseating New Albany in the Class 4A Floyd Central Sectional championship game 1-0.

Pitcher Hunter Tipton and Phil Forbis dueled deep into the Floyd County night, tossing zeros on the scoreboard until Ryan Pierce stroked a run-scoring single to win it in the bottom of the ninth.

“I told Ryan that there is no one I want up more than you in this situation,” Jeff coach Al Rabe said. “I told the team before the game that I thought the game would come down to a two-out hit. It was not one of our most dominant teams. But these kids are tough kids and we had real good pitching all year.”



2. Hornets back in elite company: The Henryville softball team raised itself to elite company a year ago, when the Hornets advanced to the Class A Elite Eight.

This year, the Hornets were back to the same level — and picking up some even more impressive victories along the way.

Henryville set a school record for regular season victories with 22 — including victories over Class 4A Floyd Central, Class 3A sectional winner Corydon, Class 2A sectional and regional champion Southwestern and Class 2A sectional champion Brownstown.

The Hornets also claimed their second consecutive Southern Athletic Conference and Lanesville Sectional championships and once again advanced into the regional final before losing to Tecumseh in the championship, 5-0.



3. Hornet baseball makes its way back: A rocky regular season may have lowered the expectations of their head coach at times, but the Henryville baseball team steamrolled the field en route to winning its first Class A sectional title since 2003.

The Hornets beat New Washington, South Central and Christian Academy of Indiana — outscoring their three foes by a combined 41-3 in the victories.

“It feels great. A whole lot of people didn’t think we could do it this year,” said Henryville head coach Jeff Schroeder, who lost seven seniors from last season’s squad. “But we worked our tails off. I knew we had it in us to play better baseball.”

The Hornets’ season ended at the Class A Henryville regional with a loss to Jac-Cen-Del, but for a program with no seniors, it’s tough to imagine Henryville not vying for a repeat.

“We have everybody back and that only raises expectations,” said Schroeder after the regional loss. “We gotta work our tails off to get back here, but I hope the guys enjoyed the experience and this gives them a goal to make it back to.”



4. A pair of All-staters

Two locals made it to the ranks of the elitee on the track this spring, with Jeffersonville sophomore Shanice Gholson and Henryville senior Maggie Gilstrap each being named all-state after good showings at the IHSAA State Meet in Bloomington.

Gholson was third overall in the 100-meter dash to record the highest local finish of any competitor at the event. Gilstrap earned her second straight all-state honor by finishing sixth in the long jump. The senior’s performance also earned her a spot on the Indiana All-Star team in the event and she later competed in the Midwest Meet of Champions in Jackson, Mi.



5. Dragons almost perfect

No one stood in Silver Creek’s way on the tennis courts this season, until the Dragons reached the semistate level.

The Dragons were unbeaten in the regular season, rolled through the sectional round and then won the Floyd Central Regional by edging Providence in the final, 3-2.

The season ended with a 4-1 loss to host Jasper at semistate.

Creek senior Sarah Hebble led the way. The Ball State-signee marched through the postseason and earned a spot in the state finals.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.